Modern inventory systems, such as those in mail order and e-commerce warehouses, supply chain distribution centers, airport luggage systems, and custom-order manufacturing facilities, include a number of complex systems, including robots, automated shelving systems, radio frequency identification (RFID), and automated scheduling and routing equipment. Some systems, for example, comprise robots that travel to shelving systems to retrieve items, or the shelves themselves, and return them to a central location for additional processing.
Automated warehouses exist that use robots, for example, to move items or shelves from a storage location in the warehouse to a shipping location (e.g., for inventory items to be boxed and shipped). It is inevitable, however, that robots working in the warehouse will encounter objects in their path. The objects can comprise, for example, workers, trash, or inventory that has fallen from shelving units.